Dana Plato, American actress (d. 1999)

Dana Michelle Plato (née Strain; November 7, 1964 – May 8, 1999) was an American actress. An influential "teen idol" of the late 1970s and 1980s, Plato was recognized for her television work, for which she was included on VH1's list of "100 Greatest Kid Stars".Plato was born to Linda Strain in 1964, and was adopted by Dean Plato in 1965. She was raised in San Fernando Valley, and was an accomplished figure skater before acting, having trained for the Olympic Games. Her acting career began with numerous commercial appearances, and her television debut came at the age of 10 with a brief appearance on the television show The Six Million Dollar Man (1975). She subsequently appeared in the horror films Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977) and Return to Boggy Creek (1977), playing Sandra Phalor and Evie Jo, respectively.

Plato's breakthrough feature was the Academy Award-winning film California Suite (1978), in which she portrayed Jenny Warren. She earned widespread recognition for playing the leading role of Kimberly Drummond, the daughter to investor Phillip Drummond and elder sister to adopted brothers Arnold and Willis Jackson, on the NBC/ABC sitcom Diff'rent Strokes (1978–1986). The role earned the actress praise, and nominations for a Young Artist Award for Best Young Actress in a Comedy Series and two TV Land Awards for Best Quintessential Non-Traditional Family. Following Diff'rent Strokes, Plato worked sporadically in independent films and B movies, and notably led the horror game Night Trap (1992) as Kelli Medd, being one of the first celebrities to appear in a video game.

Plato married guitarist Lanny Lambert in 1984, with whom she had one child, Tyler; the couple divorced in 1990, and Plato thereafter married actor and producer Scott Atkins in 1996, which lasted one month. Her later struggles with substance use disorder received significant media coverage alongside her personal life, which has often been described as a "tragedy". On May 8, 1999, Plato died from an overdose of prescription drugs at the age of 34, which was later ruled a suicide. On May 6, 2010, Tyler committed suicide with a self-inflicted shotgun blast to the head at the age of 26.